Shadows Never Die
by PreparedForZombies
Summary: A year before the Mutraddi crisis began, Ilana's original guardian made the ultimate sacrifice for her. Ilana still grieves for her protector and best friend secretly. When Octus spots a Malkieri on Earth, she is given reason to believe that he never left
1. Given New Purpose

Galaluna, Military Base Omega, Genetic Science Wing, Year 1734 of the Fifth Age

'I've done it!' the scientist thinks victoriously to himself, 'My life's work is near completion. Soon, all shall know of my brilliance.'

Before the estranged genius and strapped to an examination table was a boy no older than ten solar cycles. Beads of sweat pour from the child's brow, and he pants in pain and exhaustion, too tired to cry. His onyx eyes hold a spark of ferocity, and his raven black hair is matted to his scalp. Squinting past the blinding examination light at his captor, the boy growls ferally at the man.

The doctor strides confidently over to the command console with a peacock like strut. He leans over the controls and activates the protein activation sequence. Electricity crackles and snaps in the air around the boy and pure energy flows into the fragile body.

The boy's pupils dilate to mere pin-points and he throws back his head in a silent scream as pure agony rips through his form. He convulses on the table as his genetic code begins to be rewritten. A large syringe descends from the ceiling above and positions itself right above were the child's heart would be. With a casual push of a button, the doctor sends the needle into his heart.

A final surge of energy marks the end of the genetic transformation, and the boy finally lays still but for the unsteady rise and fall of his chest.

Resonating thuds echo through the blast-door, and a gruff voice calls, "Dr. Mengele! We know you are in there! Come out with your hands on your head!"

"Mutraddi take you!" Mengele curses vulgarly at the soldiers threatening to knock down the door as he frantically tries to awaken his creation.

The shackles holding the boy to the table slide open inaudibly and his eyes crack open, revealing a pair of piercing vivid green eyes, his pupils now slits. He lifts his head off of the table, a predatory rumble rising from his throat.

"Yes," Dr. Menedele coaxes, "Awaken and protect your creator!"

Seeming to ignore the doctor's orders, the boy draws himself upright so that he is now sitting on the table. At the sound of a fusion cutter cutting through the door, his lips pull back in a snarl, revealing his now sharp teeth. Finally, the soldiers burst through the door, and Mendele roars to the boy, "Stop them! Protect me!"

Big mistake. The sadistic doctor's voice redirects the boy's attention to the source of the sound, and the mutated child recognizes the man who caused him such unbearable agony. To the soldiers' and Dr. Mengele's horror, the child morphs explosively into a monster. Spines spring forth from his back, his skin turns into a deep red-purple color, and the tips of his fingers form into long curved claws.

A high pitched roar resonates through the room and the small boy-creature leaps off of the table and into the rafters with blinding speed. The squad leader of the soldiers barks orders for his troops to spread out and find it while he and the second in command take down Mendele.

The soldiers never have the chance to close in on the doctor.

Dropping from the ceiling, the boy-creature sprints across the floor at Mendele. He leaps at the man, and with one powerful bow, the boy tears out the throat of his evil creator. The doctor gropes at his torn throat, trying fultily to repair the damage and staunch the bleeding.

"Free fire, free fire- gah! *gurgle*" the squad leader orders before the boy kills him as well. Lasers ping off of the walls as the panicking soldiers try to take down the boy-creature. One by one, the so-called warriors fell to the mutant's claws.

Blood was splashed against the walls, and the corpses of his adversaries lay strewn around the lab.

With a gasp of horror, the boy-creature returns to his original form, his eyes also returning to their original black. He drops to his knees amidst the carnage and holds his head in his hands. Now there was no way that he'd be able to fix his reputation now, not after this and the Manus incident with Baron, and he'd spend the rest of his life in the brig.

"Oh Lance…"

Lance's head snaps up only for him to see the king himself standing in the wrecked doorway. His eyes were wide in horrified awe. Lance once again drops his head in shame, unable to look at the man who gave him a second chance.

He listens to the surprisingly light footsteps of the king as they approach him. The footsteps stop before him, and the king says, "I saw enough, Lance… I'm so sorry."

"Just sentence me and be done with it."

The king kneels beside him and says, "No. This is not your fault, it was the cruelty of Dr. Mengele."

He stands and walks over to the computer console and accesses Mendele's data files. Finding what he was looking for, the king sighs, "A Malkieri hybrid…"

Lance froze. The DNA of a Malkieri Shadow Beast was now entangled with his? The Malkieri are a ledendary predator that inhabits the forests and jungles of Galaluna. They're intelligent to a sentient degree and choose to remain as they have always been from the dawn of their existance. Long ago during the Second Age, Galalunan hunters and warriors proved their worth by finding a Malkieri and doing battle with it. Many who dared to risk such a thing were slain themselves, but to return alive from such a challenge was a mark of a true warrior, and to have slain one of them earned the warrior in question a place as a leader within his family.

However, the Malkieri grew angry as the Galalunans continued to hunt and slay them, and soon, a war of devastating proportions broke out. Thousands of Galalunans died, and great swaths of forest and jungle burned. The bloody feud between the two races lasted for centuries, and this war forced all of the tribes of the Galalunans to unite under one banner lest the Malkieri destroy them all. The Malkieri, as physically powerful they were, were weakening as their home forests burned, and the planet itself screamed in agony.

The end seemed nowhere in sight and both species, whether the opposite side knew it or not, were dying. Then the fighting suddenly stopped.

Modern scholars have no idea why, but a legend popular with story telling parents is the only explanation that can be found. Legend has it that the first princess of the Galalunans rescued a Malkieri from a trap that her people set out for such a beast. Wounded badly, the Malkieri fled into the night. Realizing that the beast could have killed her without an effort even in its state but didn't and that it won't live through the night with its injuries, the princess finds some medical supplies and follows after it. She followed its bloody tracks to an earthen cave, and found it on the doorstep of death. Too weak to do anything else and soothed by the princess' voice and kindness, the beast allowed her to further help him. Remembering something an old wise man told her about how Malkieri blood had mystical qualities, the princess made a cut on her arm and tied her wound to one of the beast's. Their blood mingled and a bond was forged between them that night.

The princess' actions resulted in a psychic link between herself and the Malkieri she saved. She discovered that the beast she saved, Ra'ethek, was a high ranking alpha amongst the Malkieri, and thanks to her kindness, he would help her to end the war and would be her protector for life. Eventually, the two sides made peace, and the Galalunans swore to never hunt another Malkieri and to leave them in peace in their realm. Holding himself to his personal oath, Ra'ethek became the new queen's protector when her father stepped down from the throne. To this day, killing a Malkieri is a capitol crime and is punished by immediate banishment into the Malkieri realm, and a Malkieri Shadow Beast is a symbol of the royal family.

"Lance?"

"M'lord?"

The king sighs and says, "There are few options for what can happen from here. You can return to your classes and risk exposing yourself, you can run away, or you can hear me out on a proposition."

With wary eyes, Lance looks up at the king, "What is your proposition?"

"My daughter, Ilana, is very precious to me and our people, you understand?" Lance nods. The king continues, " I fear in the near future that she will be made a target of Galalunan enemies. They will try to take her for leverage or kill her, and they will become creative in their attempts, this I know. I also fear that even the royal guardsmen will not be enough to protect her.

"Lance, I want you to be Ilana's Shadow Guard."

Lance stared at the king, dumbstruck. To a soldier, the honor of being offered the position of Shadow Guard was beyond their most insane dreams and only the absolute best of the elite were ever considered for the job. The Shadow Guards got their name from the way they protect their charges. They 'shadow' their protectants and are very secretive. The saying amongst the military goes, 'If you don't see the royal's Shadow, all is well. If you do, shit is about to hit the fan.' Neither civilians nor military personnel 'accidentally' spot them, ever.

The ten year-old cadet stammers in a strangled voice, "Sir? A Shadow Guard? Why me? I'm not even an official soldier. I'll need years more of training-"

The king holds up his hand to silence him, "If you take the job, you'll be immediately entered into Spec Ops training, not to mention given time to hone your new abilities." The king looks the younger male in the eye, "Please Lance, I ask you not as your king but as a father trying to protect his daughter. You may not believe me when I say this, but I' truly believe that you are her _Umbramico_."

The young warrior holds his king's piercing gaze for a few moments. This man, this king, was offering to place his most precious treasure, his only child, into his care. He now had no doubt in his mind that this man truly believed in him. To deny this man, who had already given him so much, this request would disprove that belief.

So he answered, "It would be my honor, sire. I swear on the lifeblood running through my veins and the breathe in my lungs that I will protect her."

The king smiles, pleased, "Thank you, my boy." He draws himself upright and says, "Come on, you won't be going back to the Academy, and I shall send someone for your personal effects."

The new Shadow Guard nods and attempts to stand, but as he does so, a wound on his side becomes apparent. A round had found its mark on Lance, and now a shallow gash bled from his left side. Feeling the pain, Lance winces but says nothing, but the king immediately sees the wound. He pulls out his communicator and says gently, "Lawry?"

The driver of the king's transport answers, "Yes sire?"

"I want you to pull around to Bay G12 and pick up a passenger waiting there. He is to be in Ilana's care, so take them home."

"What about your sire?"

"I have some business to attend to here."

"Right your majesty. I shall return as soon as I am able."

"Thank you Lawry." He then contacts Ilana, "Ilana?"

"Yes father?" A young girl's sweet bell-like voice answers, "Is something wrong?"

"No darling, but there is a boy here who is in need of your help. He is bleeding and hurt, but will you take care of him?"

Always wanting to be of aid to others in need, Ilana does not hesitate to agree, "Of course! I'll get him all patched up, you can count on that!"

"Thank you dear." The king turns his attention back to Lance and says, "Go through those doors and get in the vehicle. I'm going to have a little chat with your headmaster."

At this order, Lance pales but does what he is told, 'I'm in no condition for the princess to see me.' And he was right. His uniform jacket and shirt were torn, tattered, and covered in both his adversaries' blood and his own, and his face and hair were in a dismal state of disarray. He staggered out to the docking bay attatched to the science wing to find the transport waiting for him as the king told him.

A girl no older than he was standing next to the open hatch of the transport. Her short blonde hair is swept back, and her large blue eyes shimmer with compassion and concern for him, widening when she sees just how bad his state is. For the first time, his heart skips a beat when he lays his eyes on her.

He halts a few feet from her and hazards a bow, wincing as he does so. This movement causes his wound on his side to worsen, and Ilana does not miss this detail.

"Don't do that! You're hurting yourself!" She scolds as she moves to pull him upright.

Lance sees this sudden movement and staggers a few steps backward to avoid her touch. Ilana stops instantly, frozen. His evasion was unexpected and swifter than she thought possible for his condition. She bites her bottom lip, uncertain what to do.

Lance stood as if ready to flee or fight and looked akin to a wounded animal, his eyes wary and cautious. This feeling came off of him in waves, and Ilana could feel the predator staring out at with startling clarity, though she could not identify it as such. She swallows and whispers soothingly, reaching out slowly with her hand and inching forward, "It's alright. I wish only to help you." She continues to murmur to him until she finally reaches him and places her hand on his shoulder.

At her touch, the wariness in his soul leaves. He calms and is suddenly hit with the true extent of his fatigue. Somehow sensing this in him, Ilana swiftly maneuvers herself under his unwounded side and supports him as he suddenly slumps. They sway for a minute, but Ilana proves to be stronger than she appears and is able to help him stay upright.  
"I got you," she whispers.

Lance looks over at her and offers her one of his rare smiles. She responds with her own and assists him into the transport. Ilana leads him to the bench that stretches across the back of the cab and helps him lie down on it. She sits on the edge of the bench beside him and says, "Lawry will you take us home please?"

"Of course princess."

"Thank you," she says and then returns her attentions to Lance. She moves to his head and lifts it onto her lap. She sooths his messy hair and presses a bandage to his wound to stop the bleeding.

Under her gentle ministrations, the worn out cadet relaxes and falls into sleep. As she watches him, Ilana frowns and whispers to herself, "What happened to you?"

Hours later…

Lance's eyes open, and he finds himself in a completely alien place. He was now in a sleeping chamber, judging from the furniture, that was simple yet very elegant. He attempts to sit up but finds that he is unable to do so with a grunt of pain. "Princess?"

This sound alerts his caretaker to his wakefulness. Ilana turns to him with a tender, compassion-filled smile, "Good, you're awake." She lays her hand on his forehead to check his temperature.

Lance was gone at that moment. When before he would have just treated his assignment as a duty to be fulfilled, he realized the moment that she touched his skin that his life now was centered on his passion for protecting this girl. He was hers, whether she knew it or not.

"Here," she hands him a cup of water, "You need to get your fluids back up."

He takes the water from her gratefully and gulps it down ferociously to quench the desert that had taken hold in his throat. When that was gone, she took the empty one and promptly handed him a full one. He smiles to her again in gratitude and murmurs, "Thank you, m'lady. Your kindness is more than I deserve." He knew that she recognized him from the Manus incident.

"Everyone deserves help." Ilana studies him for a minute and asks, "You never told me your name. Would you?"

"Lance, m'lady."

"You don't have to call me that you know."

Lance looks at her confused but says, "What else am I to call you princess?"

Ilana smirks, "How about my real name?"

Lance blushes and nods, "Alright, m'l- Ilana."

She laughs, "There, was that so hard?"

Lance laughs too, "No, I guess not." He suddenly yawns and they are both taken by laughter again. Ilana smiles, "I should let you rest Lance." She reaches over and turns out the light, "Good night, Lance."

With utmost endearment in his voice, he whispers back to her in the darkness, "Good night, Ilana. Thank you."


	2. Your Shadowy Protector

**Galaluna, Royal Palace, Princess Ilana's bedroom, Year 1735 of the Fifth Age**

With a heaving sigh, Ilana flops backward onto her bed and closes her eyes. She unbuttons her purple overcoat and slides it off onto the bed beside her. One of the various noblemen of Galaluna had thrown a lavish party to celebrate his eldest son's birthday, and naturally the king and his court were invited.

There were more than a few young gentlemen trying to become acquainted with her tonight, one of them being the birthday boy himself. Ilana frowns as the arrogant peacock of a boy flits across her mind. What was his name? Barney? Barllow? Brendan? She shakes her head to dismiss his overall unpleasantness from her mind. She spoke barely ten words to him, but she could already tell that he was a very vindictive and cruel person, though he somehow manages to hide it from his superiors.

However, his initial appearance dredged up a memory of a boy his opposite, one with raven hair and striking black eyes, but this flash of remembrance was gone as quick at it came, leaving not even a name for the face seen and Ilana with an unsavory companion for the night. Held to the rules of royal etiquette, Ilana had to accept when he asked her to dance, and though they danced, it was a stiff and uncomfortable affair. Annoyed to no end by his incessant advances, Ilana spent the rest of the night actively seeking out others' company because all those with whom she would spend her time normally seemed to be afraid of Burgess… or whatever his name was. Finally, the last festivities of the night drew the annoyance away. She returned to her father and mother and said her farewells swiftly so as to avoid her newfound bane. Who knew that she'd be beating off potential suitors this early?

She stands and moves behind her screen to change into more comfortable sleeping attire. She leaves her dress draped across the back of a chair and emerges from behind the screen prepared for bed. As she crawls into the comforters and snuggles down into them, a shadow falls across the moonlight stretching out on the bed. She looks up slowly to see a human figure crouched on her balcony. The figure was donned in full combat gear and wore something akin to night-vision goggles.

It slides into the room silently with malice in its movements. A wicked blade gleams in the moonlight, and it takes all of the girl's will power not to make a sound. Something tells her that if she were to shout for the guards, she'd be dead before they reached the door handles.

Ilana resolves at that moment to roll quickly to the other side of the bed when he gets close enough. The assassin never gets close enough however.

The air between her bed and the assassin wavers as it would in extreme heat causing the assailent to stop for a moment and stare at the anomaly in bewilderment. The air seems to solidify into something that is much more deadly than the simple humanoid assassin. A creature covered in short red-purple fur crouches between her and him. It has six intimidating spines on its torso and several others on the rest of its body, and it is at least 8 feet long from nose-tip to tail tip and has a blade like appendage on the end of its long lithe tail. A second pair of arms comes from its torso from behind the first set of primary arms, and two large ears lay against its oblong head.

The creature growls at the intruder, a menacing sound that makes the target cringe visibly. It takes one step forward then another, driving the assailant back to the balcony. Ilana can only watch in stunned fascination as the creature opens its maw to emit a reverberating roar that she could feel ripple through her own body. It leaps toward its target and smites it upon the head. The would-be assassin is flung backwards into the balcony's railing and lays limp against them. Whether he was dead or simply incapacitated, Ilana could not tell from her place on the bed. When she goes to return her gaze to the creature, she discovers that the room was empty but for her and the assassin.

Royal Guardsmen burst into the room, weapons drawn and faces set into grim masks. Upon seeing the intruder on the balcony, the guards hastily move themselves between the two, their sights trained on the man. "Are you alright princess?" one asks.

"I'm fine. Is… is he dead?"

Another guardsmen crouches cautiously at the assassin's side and reaches out to check his vitals. He looks to his captain and shakes his head.

"Yes."

"ILANA!" Her father's rumbling voice calls in fear for his daughter. All of the room's occupants turn to the room's doorway. Through it rush the king and the queen, worried for their child.

They cross the space to Ilana's side, and her father demands of her, "What happened?"

She gulps and says, "That man somehow got onto the balcony. I'm certain that he wanted to kill me." The king looks around the room at each guard, but none meet his gaze. Ilana realizes that they were in serious danger of being dismissed on the spot so adds, "… I was afraid at first, but then a creature of some sort just… appeared out of thin air and attacked him. It was like a thing out of the old stories!" With her last statement, Ilana reminds herself of what it actually was, "I think it was a Malkieri Shadow Beast."

Her father nods to himself, and her mother hugs her child, "Are you sure you're alright dear?"

Ilana nods, "I'm alright mother. As soon as that Malkieri appeared, I… I think that I knew that I didn't have anything to be afraid of, that it would protect me."

"Your feeling was correct my dear," the king smiles once again, "I should have told you a while ago, but that creature is your Shadow Guard. He watches over you and protects you. Wherever you go, he is with you like a true shadow. If you ever need him, all you must do is call for him, and he shall be there."

"Really?"

"Yes, but I warn you. You cannot speak of him with anyone but myself or your mother, understand?"

"Of course, father."

"That's my girl," he kisses her on the forehead.

Suddenly, yet another guardsman enters the room and reports, "My lord?"

"Yes Corporal Henderson?"

"It's been confirmed that it was an infiltration job, sir. A conspirator impersonated one of the guardsmen and fed information to the assassin. We're looking for him now-"

A man dressed in a Royal Guardsman's uniform is thrown into the room through the open balcony doors tied up with a piece of the broken metal railing. The man lands with an 'omph!' and looks around the room wildly for the thing that captured him. His eyes land on the king and he pales, realizing that he was discovered. A guard reaches down and plucks off a quickly scribbled note that was on the criminal. He hands it to the king, who then reads it. A smile slowly stretches across his face and he reads it once more aloud, probably to prove a point to Ilana, _" I found this one making a brake for it at the landing pad. Recommended that genetic check in be required for all personnel given clearance to sensitive information systems. – SG-216. _Captain? I believe that we should take SG-216's suggestion. Tomorrow we'll get to work identifying which personnel will be IDed."

"Yes sir." The captain nods, "Permission to take these two out of your presence?"

"Granted."

The guards stoop and heft the two thwarted assailants, dragging them away. The king and queen ask once more if she was all right. Ilana once more responds, "Really, I'm fine." They accept this, give her a kiss goodnight, and take their leave. Once again, Ilana finds herself alone in her room Or at least, that's what it looks like.

Ilana waits until she no longer hears anyone outside her door before she slips quietly out of her bed. She pads softly to the center of the room and simply looks around it, wondering where he could be. She whispers, "I know you're there. Will you please come out?"

She awaits an answer but only silence answers her. Ilana sighs in disappointment and lowers her head, but a soft 'mur' sounds behind her. She turns and jumps in surprise when she comes face to upside-down face with her guardian. Her gaze continues upward to see that 216 was actually 'standing' on his hind legs on the ceiling. Amusement glitters in his vivid green eyes and he drops down to the floor without a sound.

"Hello."

The Malkieri cocks his head to the side and murs again as if to say hello back. Ilana watches him in fascination, and he shifts uncomfortably, unused to being seen. She reaches out to him and waits, allowing him to close the distance. He lifts his snout to her awaiting hand and makes contact. Ilana gasps at the feeling that washes over her. She can sense him and he her.

_'Hello Princess Ilana.' _The thought comes not in actual words, but in images and ideas that belong to the Shadow Guard. She draws her hand back and smiles, "You can understand me?"

_'Of course. How could I protect you if I didn't understand your kind?' _

The link doesn't fade though they no longer were in physical contact. Ilana nods, "That makes sense. Why do you protect me? I am no ruler of the Malkieri."

He hesitates, _'I am no normal Malkieri. I am neither a Galaunan nor a Malkieri, but a walker between the two worlds.'_ His thoughts become sad and his face noticeably sours, _'I am not really welcome among the Galalunans, even in my humanoid form, but your protection is my purpose, and I will give my life to full fill it if necessary.'_

She is stunned by his vow of unwavering loyalty. This being was willing to die for her and she didn't even know his name. "Do you have a name?"

_'Yes, but for both our sakes, I cannot tell you it. My call-sign is SG-216.' _

"Is there anything I can call you that isn't a serial number?"

He looked puzzled but shakes his head no, _'I have no other name, not even an old nickname.'_

"Oh," Ilana frowns.

_'You can give me one though,' _he looks strangely hopeful, _'I will not mind.'_

Ilana hums, "Well I can't just give you a random name. It has to have some meaning behind it." Ilana looks around the room seeking inspiration. Her gaze lands on the broken balcony railings and she is struck with a name, "You're a fierce one, I saw that much when you attacked that man, so how about Efferus? It means fierce in the Old Tongue."

'Efferus' seems pleased and nods, _'I like it princess.'_

"Don't start with that. Just call me Ilana, okay?"

_'Very well.' _Efferus murs again, _'Ilana, you've had a stressful night. I think it would be wise for you to sleep.' _

"But I've only just met you. I want to learn more about you," Ilana protests but yawns at the end of her statement. Realizing that he was right, she sighs sorrowfully, "I suppose you're right."

Efferus bumps her hand and coos, _'Fear not Ilana, I'll be here for a long time to come.' _

"Can we speak tomorrow night then?"

_'If that is what you wish.'_

"That would be nice." Silence, "Thank you for saving me Efferus."

_'You're welcome Ilana.'_

With that, Efferus turns and disappears into the shadows with a slight shimmering of air, certain his charge was safe as he to lies down in the corner to sleep as well.


	3. NOTE

**Dear readers,**

**Thank you for all of the encouraging reviews and sorry for this teaser chapter/note thing. I am NOT going to stop with this story; I am promising this right now to you all. I just haven't had the time to write the chapters lately and regret that I haven't updated in so long. The next chapter is coming soon, and I'll be replacing this note with it. Thank you for your loya****lty.**

**Humbly Yours,  
PreparedForZombies**

**P.S. Any ideas or grammar corrections are welcome! :)**


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